Apparatus for controlling exhaust



Nov. 24, 1959 A. H. BAHNSON, JR

APPARATUS FOR CONTROLLING EXHAUST 5 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed April 21, 1955IN VENTOR 8 fink ATTORNEY 5 J W JW- Nov. 24, 1959 A. H. BAHNSON, JR2,914,136

APPARATUS FOR CONTROLLING EXHAUST Filed April 21, 1955 3 Sheets-Sheet 21N VENTOR 1 awnmga. WWJ MW ATTORNEYS Nov. 24, 1959 A. H. BAHNSON, JR2,914,136

APPARATUS FOR CONTROLLING EXHAUST Filed April 21, 1955 5 Sheets-Sheet 3INVENTOR BY/PLWL) JW 29 km ATTORNEY 3 United States Patent APPARATUS FORCONTROLLING EXHAUST Agnew H. Bahnson, Jr., Winston-Salem, N .C.

Application Aprfl 21, 1955, Serial No. 502,979

2 Claims. (Cl. 183-37) In textile manufacturing plants and in particularthose rooms of the plantwherein continuous lengths formed from staplefibers, such as slivers, rovings and the like of cotton are drawn,straightened or twisted preparatory to weaving or knitting it is mostimportant that proper temperature and humidity conditions be maintained.Thus in temperate zones such as in the United States where the summertemperature is too hot and, conversely, the winter temperature too coldfor processing of the fibers on the textile machines such as'slubbers,drawing frames, roving frames and spinning frames it has been foundnecessary to install air conditioning equipment which will modify theambient temperature and humidity as required to maintain thoseconditions considered optimum for the particular process being carriedout. Generally speaking, additional heat is necessary in the winterperiod and cooling is required during the heated summer.

Also, during recent years more and more attention has been focussed onthe problem of keeping the textile machines in these rooms relativelyfree from lint. This is a particularly important problem where thetextile fibers are in a loose or only slightly twisted condition such asa rove for the reason that fibers in such condition are most likely tobreak and also shed loose particles which tend to grow into fluffs asthey are blown about. The loose particles and fluifs can easily becomeentangled in the lengths of fibers being processed into strands and thelike and tend to reduce quality of product. Moreover, the lint andflufis get into the moving parts of the machines which is alsoundesirable. A further reason for keeping the work rooms free from lint.is that a relatively clean room promotes morale of the employees whooperate the machines.

One type of apparatus that has been developed for clearing textilemachines such as a spinning frame and the like of lint and brokenstrands is comprised of a plurality of air suction tubes positionedadjacent the strands as they come off the drawing rolls, these tubesincluding an intake orifice or slot in alignment with each strand. Theair suction maintained at these orifices is effective for drawing inloose particles in the vicinity of thestrands and also for catching anddrawing in the ends of any strands which should happen to break betweenthe drawing rolls and the spindles. The collection tubes are themselvesmanifolded so to speak into a larger central duct which runs for theentire length of and inside the spinning frame, and a suction fanconnected to one end of this central duct serves to draw the air andcollected lint and broken strand ends into a filter box where the lintand broken strand material are caught by a filter screen, the filteredair being thendischarged.

For driving the spindles of the spinning frame a motor of considerablesize is required. This motor is 'usually located at the end of the frameand the heat given off by the motor adds considerably to the heat loadof the room and thereby also to the air conditioning system especiallyduring the summer when heat must'be removed. The

. 2 same is true as regards the amount of heat given off by the motorandfan unit which supplies the necessary power to operate the suctionsystem for clearing the spinning frame of lint and broken ends.

An object of the present invention is to provide an improved arrangementfor controlling the amount of heat,

originating in the motors which power the spinning frame and in themotor and fan for powering the suction system for clearing the frame,that is removed from or left to circulate in the room.

In general this objective is attained by locating the suction fan andfilter unit at the same end of the spinning frame as the motor whichdrives the frame cylinder which in turn drives the spindles, andestablishing a suction pressure limited to this general area and arelated exhaust duct system by which a variable amount of the heatpresent in such area can be removed. In the event that it is practicalto establish an under-the-floor exhaust duct sys tem for conveying awaythe heat from this area, an entrance to the duct system can be madethrough the floor in the vicinity of the frame drive motor, and the airdischarged from the suction fan, i.e. the filtered air, is preferablydirected downwardly in the direction of the motor and fioor opening. Inthe event that an under-the-fioor exhaust duct'system is not practical,an exhaust duct system can be arranged overhead in the spinning room, inwhich event the air entrance to the overhead duct system would beconstituted by a hood arranged above the motor and suction fan area.Consequently, by varying the suction pressure in the exhaust ductsystem, the amount of heat in the vicinity of the drive motor andsuction fan discharge that is removed from or left to circulate in theroom can be correspondingly varied. Moreover, if desired, the motoralley area and inlet to the exhaust system can be partly enclosed suchas by means of upright walls between the spinning frames in order toexercise a more positive control over the air exhausted from this area.

As previously indicated, generally speaking, heat must be removed fromthe room during summer while it is usually necessary to supply heatduring the winter season. Consequently, the suction pressure and airhandling in the exhaust duct system will be higher in summer than inwinter, and, during the latter season, it may even become necessary todrop the suction pressure and air handling to zero, in which case no airwill be taken out through the exhaust duct system. One exception to thegeneral rule of heat removal during summer arisesin regards to textilework rooms where air conditioning with refrigeration is employed. Inthis instance, the maximum suction pressure and air handling by theexhaust duct system will be used in very hot weather until the totalheat of the outside air exceeds the total heat of the air in the room atwhich point the amount of air exhausted will be decreased by, forinstance, an outdoor wet bulb control similar to the same conventionalcontrol that would be, at such time, closing the outside dampers of theair conditioning system in the room.

One practical method of varying the suction pressure in the exhaust ductsystem would be by means of a thermostat type of control, based upon thechange in ex terior temperatures. Another type of control possible wouldbe to couple it with the fresh air and return dampers of the airconditioning system associated with the room so as to proportion theamount of air taken out of the room through the exhaust duct system inrelation to the amount of air being brought in by the air conditioningsystem. The suction pressure variation itself can be' obtained bychanging the speed of the suction fan associated with the exhaust ductsystem or by the use of vortex dampers in the duct, or by any otherfunctionally equivalent means. 1

Patented'Nov. 24, 1959 In spinning rooms where the drive motors of twoframes are located together to form what is called a double motor alley,a suction fan and drive motor unit therefor individual to each frame canbe employed but it is preferred to utilize a single suction fan andmotor unit of novel construction, also claimed herein per se, whichserves to operate the lint and broken end collection system of bothframes. This suction fan is provided with an air intake and filtersection and clean-out cornpartment for each spinning frame, the wholebeing contained within a common housing, and the discharge from thesuction fan being directed in such manner as will best result in itsfiow into the exhaust duct system.

The foregoing as well as other objects and advantages inherent in theinvention will become more evident from the following detaileddescription of one practical embodiment thereof and the accompanyingdrawings wherein:

Fig. 1 is a somewhat diagrammatic view of a portion of a spinning roomcontaining a plurality of spinning frames, the adjacent end portionsonly of two such frames being illustrated in side elevation in order notto unduly complicate the drawings, this view also showing the doublemotor alley area between the frames, at floor outlet from such area andan underfloor exhaust duct connected to that outlet;

Fig. 2 is a vertical transverse section through one of the spinningframes taken on line 22 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a vertical section taken on line 3--3 of Fig. 4 of the suctionand filter unit located in the motor alley area and which serves bothspinning frames for removing loose particles and broken ends;

Fig. 4 is a horizontal section through the suction and filter unit takenon line 4-4 of Fig. 3; and

Fig. 5 is a vertical section through the suction and filter unit takenon line 55 of Fig. 4.

With reference now to the drawings and in particular to Figs. 1 and 2,the floor of the spinning room is indicated at it upon which stands aplurality of spinning machines. In the particular arrangement ofmachines illustrated, which is quite common, the machines are arrangedin rows in the room there being aplurality of machines to each row andthe machines of each row being arranged generally in end-to-end relationand with suflicient space between the ends of adjacent machines in a rowto accommodate the drive motors for the ma chine spindles of two frames.The end portions only of adjacent spinning frames in one row areindicated at 11 and 11', and all structural detail not essential to anunderstanding of the invention have been omitted. The spools 12containing the roving to be processed are mounted vertically between thecreel boards 13, and the roving 14 from the same is drawn by and betweenrolls 15 for winding upon spindles 16. The latter are driven in pairs ateach side of the machine by means of endless tapes 17 which are drivenoff a cylinder 18 that extends for the full length of each machine inthe so-called underframe portion. Each of the cylinders 18 is driven bya motor located in the motor alley area 19 between the frames, the motorfor spinning frame 11 being indicated at 20 and the motor for spinningframe 11 being indicated at 20'. The motor alley area can, if desired,be at least partially walled in by means of side panels 21 and 22 whichextend upward from the floor at the sides of each frame to a height of afew feet, the panels being preferably removable when necessary foraccess to the drive motors.

The air suction apparatus for collecting loose particles and broken endsfrom the spinning frames 11, 11 comprises central collection ducts 23,23' which can be rectangular in cross-section extending for thefulllength of the frame beneath the creel boards 13. The end of the duct23 at the end of the spinning frame 11 and the end of the duct 23' atthe end of spinning frame 11 remote from the ends shown in the drawingare closed andthe opposite ends of the ducts 23, 23 are connected toinlets 24, 24 of a combined suction and filter unit 25 situated in themotor alley area and above the drive motors 20,

The unit 25 functions to maintain a suction in collection ducts 23, 23',to filter the fiber laden air which flows into the same, and todischarge the cleaned air downwardly in the direction of the drivemotors 20, 20, in a manner to be described later in further detail.

Connected to each of the ducts 23, 23' by means of tubings 26, 26 are aplurality of cylindrical collection tubes or fiutes 27, 27 eachcontaining a plurality of horizontally extending, spaced slots ororifices 28, 28. These slots 28, 28' are located at the places on thespinning frame where the broken ends usually occur which is between theoutput side of the rolls 15 and the guides 29 through which the strands14 pass to be wound upon the spindles 16. A separate slot 28, 28' isprovided for each strand such as a roving strand or the like beingprocessed and is located below and in line with the path which thestrand follows, as clearly seen in Fig. 2, so that upon a break in anystrand, the free end of the strand will be drawn by suction through itscorresponding slot and will continue to be so sucked in until theoperator notices the break and reties the strand so as to continue thespin ning thereof. The broken strand end passes through the tube 27 or27 and tubing 26 or 26' into the central collection duct 23 or 23' andthrough the latter into the filter unit 25. It is preferable to make thetubes 27, 27 of such length as will service several strands, there beinga slot 23 or 28' for each strand, and the several tubes being eachconnected by tubing 26, 26 to the central collection ducts 23, 23'. Themultiple number ofair suction slots distributed throughout the length ofeach spinning frame in addition to their function of picking up brokenstrand ends also serve to continuously draw in a considerable quantityof loose particles along the entire length of the spinning frame andthese particles also are likewise carried through the collection ductsystem to the filter unit 25.

The filter unit 25, the details of which are also claimed in thisapplication, is featured by a single fan which serves to establish thesuction in the duct systems of both spinning frames 11, 11' and a filtercompartment individual to the air intake from each frame, all containedwithin a common housing located in the motor alley area above thespindle drive motors for the frames. With reference now to Figs. 1 and35 which show the details of construction of the filter unit 25, thesuction fan 31 is seen to be of the axial intake, tangential exhausttype. The scroll of the fan in which is enclosed the impeller 33 ismounted within a housing 34, and the tangential exhaust duct 30 from thefan scroll passes out through the bottom wall of housing 34, in avertically downward direction and terminates just below the top edges ofthe side plates 21, 22 which partially enclose the double motor alleyarea. The shaft of impeller 33 extends through a side wall of housing 34and has a pulley 35 mounted thereon which is coupled by belt 36 toanother pulley 37 on the shaft of an electn'c motor 38 mounted atop thehousing 34. The axial intake to the suction fan is shown at 39.

As previously indicated, the filter unit 25 includes two filtersections, there beingone filter section for each spinning frame. As isclearly visible from Fig. 4, air having lint particles and broken endsentrained therein coming to the filter unit 25 through duct 23 entersthrough intake 24 into that part 34a of the housing 34 which lies insideof three screen panels 40, 41 and 42 which are joined together at theiredges and extend from the bottom to the top of housing 34. These threescreen or filter panels thus form a filter compartment 34a screened offfrom the remainder of housing 34 in which is trapped all of'thej fibrousmaterial incoming through the collection duct 23' from spinning frame11. In a similar manner, air having lintparticles and broken endsentrained thereincom ing to the filter unit 25 through duct 23 entersthrough a itate intake 24' into that part 34b of housing 34 which liesinside of three screen panels 40' 41 and 42' which are also joinedtogether at their edges and extend from the bottom to the top of housing34.' These three screen panels thus form a second filter compartment 34bscreened off from the remainder of the interior of housing 34 in whichis trapped all of the fibrous material incoming through the collectionduct 23' from spinning frame 11'. The filtered air, after passingthrough the screens 40-42 and 40-42 flows into the axial intake opening39 to the scroll 32 and is then discharged by the impeller 33 throughthe tangential outlet duct 30. A cleanout door 43 is preferably providedin the end wall of housing 34 leading to the filter compartment 34a tofacilitate removal of the fibrous material which collects therein, and asimilar cleanout door 43 is provided at the opposite end wall of housing34 for access to filter compartment 34b.

The housing 34 may be supported in the position shown in Fig. 1 by anysuitable means, not illustrated. Such support may be by way of lateralconnections to the end structure of the spinning frames 11, 11', or thehousing may be carried by a suitable framework built up from the floorof the spinning room.

With reference again to Fig. 1, the opening in the floor in the doublemotor alley area 19 to draw a variable amount of air therefrom anddischarge the same to the outside, is indicated at 44, and the duct 45leading therefrom is manifolded into a larger exhaust duct 46 in whichis located a suction fan 47 driven by electric motor 48 which isarranged to operate at a variable speed in order to effect a variationin the duct station and hence also the amount of air drawn into the ductfrom the motor alley area 19 of the spinning room. It will be noted thatthe duct 46 extends to the left of the particular duct 45 illustratedand the intention is that this leads to a similar air exhaustarrangement provided for the motor alley areas of other pairs ofspinning frames located in the same row. In a similar manner, like motoralley area exhaust systems will be provided for the spinning frames inthe other rows of frames located in the spinning room.

In accordance with the invention, the suction in duct 46 is to be variedin accordance with a change in room temperature and climatic conditionsso that during the summer months the suction is increased therebyremoving most if not all of the heat given off by frame spindle drivemotors 20, 21 and the exhaust from the filter unit 25 in the motor alleyarea 19, the heated air being drawn down through the floor opening 44into the exhaust ducts 45, 46. Conversely, in the winter, the suction induct 46 is decreased and may even drop to zero to the end that most, ifnot all, of the heat given 01f by the motors 20, 21' and the exhaustfrom filter unit 25 will be allowed to distribute itself throughout theroom area. In the seasons between midsummer and mid-winter, the suctionin the exhaust duct 46 will, of course, be suitably maintained betweenthese two extremes of operation.

The control over the exhaust suction in duct 46 can be directed manuallyor the system can be made to operate automatically by some means whichvary in accordance with the change in temperature, the control beingpredicated either upon a change in outdoor temperature or a change intemperature within the work room. As previously indicated, an automaticcontrol may also be predicated upon, i.e. tied to, operation of .thefresh air and return dampers of a conventional air conditioning systeminstalled to condition the air in the room, such dampers beingthemselves controlled as a function of the change in outsidetemperature. One mode of automatic control and which is illustratedschematically in Fig. 1

could comprise either a Wet or dry bulb thermostat 49 responsive to theoutdoor temperature, the thermostat response being used to control theaction of a speed controller unit of conventional design and thereforeillustrated simply by the block 50 which in turn controls the speed ofmotor 48 and fan 47 and thereby controls the amount of air suction inthe duct 46. In the case of an air conditioning system employingrefrigeration associated with the room, the air removed from the roomvia the exhaust duct system would generally increase with an increase inoutside temperature but would be decreased when the total heat in theoutside air exceeded the total heat of the air in the room. In lieu ofvarying the speed of the fan, the fan speed could be kept substantiallyconstant and the duct suction varied by means of controllable dampers inthe duct and when the minimum air quantity was reached, the exhaust fancould be cut off.

The arrangement which has been described in relation to room exhausts atdouble motor alley locations between adjacent spinning frame is, ofcourse, equally applicable to single unit frames having the spindledrive motor for the frame and the suction and filter unit for clearingthe frame of loose fibrous particles and broken ends. It will also beunderstood, in conclusion, that other variations in the particularconstruction and arrangement of parts and applications of the inventionto textile machines other than spinning frames, such as slubbers,drawing frames and roving frames are possible without departing from thespirit and scope of the invention as defined in the appended claims.

I claim:

1. A suction fan and filter unit comprising a housing, a motor drivensuction fan mounted within said housing, a pair of mutually separatefilter compartments in said housing, the walls defining each suchcompartment being constituted at least in part by filter screens, theintake to said suction fan being in communication with the air dischargeside of said filter screens, a separate inlet to each compartment forair to be filtered and a clean-out door for each filter compartmentproviding access thereto.

2. A suction fan and filter unit comprising a housing, a motor drivensuction fan of the centrifugal type including impeller and scrollcomponents, said fan being mounted within said housing and having anaxial inlet to said impeller component and a tangential outlet from saidscroll component thereof, the interior of said housing being sub-dividedby screen Walls into a pair of mutually separate filter compartments,the axial inlet to said impeller component being in communication withthe air discharge side of said filter screens, a separate inlet to eachfilter compartment for air to be filtered, and a cleanout door for eachfilter compartment providing access thereto.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS2,011,763 Hodge et a1 Aug. 20, 1935 2,394,923 Little Feb. 12, 19462,425,577 Thoma Aug. 12, 1947 2,431,726 Bechtler Dec. 2, 1947 2,518,780Hess Aug. 15, 1950 2,539,195 Lang Jan. 23, 1951 2,601,008 Strassler June17, 1952 2,708,829 Thoma May 24, 1955 2,799,356 Hewitt July 16, 1957FOREIGN PATENTS 112,504 Austria Mar. 11, 1929 976,681 France Nov. 1,1950

